MALLOW FAMILY 



95 



bracts of its epicalyx united, occurs, perhaps introduced in ballast, 

 in the Scilly Isles, in Cornwall, and in Dorset. — Fl. June, July. 

 Annual or biennial. 



3. Malva (Mallow). — Glabrous or hairy herbs ; Z^rt-zrj- angled 

 or lobed ; flowers axillary ; epicalyx of 3 distinct bracts ; and other 

 characters mainly as in the two preceding genera. (Name from 

 the Greek 7?id/ake, soft, in allusion to its emollient mucilage.) 



I. Af. vioschdta (Musk Mallow). — Hairy, light green, stem 

 erect, leaves long-stalked, deeply palmately 5 — 7-lobed, lobes 



mAi,v.\ sylv^stris {Common Malloiv). 



pinnatifid, with a faint musky odour when rubbed, especially in 

 hot weather; floivers large, handsome, rose-coloured, crowded 

 towards the top of the stem ; fruit hairy. — Hedges and borders of 

 fields ; frequent. A white variety is occasionally found and is 

 grown in gardens. — Fl. July, August. Perennial. 



2. M. sylvestris (Common Mallow). — A robust, erect, 

 branched, herbaceous, downy plant ; leaves lobed, but not deeply 

 divided, crenate-serrate ; flowers showy, lilac with crimson veins ; 

 fruit glabrous. — Waste ground ; common. — Fl. June — September. 

 Perennial. 



As the season advances, the leaves lose their first deep-green 



